FIU Finds Storage Chip Can Shield Cybersecurity

Hackers are ruthless. They can take control of your computer, delete files and disappear without a trace.

FIU cybersecurity researcher Weidong Zhu has discovered a way to transform a computer’s storage chip into an additional tool for cyber defense. Working with collaborators at the University of Florida, Zhu created a system that makes data on these chips last longer — extending the lifespan of your files in the critical window after your computer is compromised.

“Our system extends recoverable data history up to 126 days,” said Zhu, an assistant professor at FIU’s Knight Foundation School of Computing & Information Sciences whose work is part of the Center for Integrated Security, Privacy, and Trustworthy AI (CIERTA). “Even if your computer is infected, your data can survive on your drive.”

Storage chips, known as solid-state drives (SSDs), have intrigued cybersecurity researchers for years. As hardware — not software — they offer unique safety benefits during an attack.

“Think of it like a vault inside a bank,” Zhu said. “The bank [operating system] might get robbed, but if the vault [SSD controller] has its own independent lock and its own security guard, the robbers can’t crack it just because they got past the front door.”

However, turning that security potential into real-world value has proven difficult.

Repurposing a solid-state drive to do both defense and storage is tricky. Defense improvements can burden the SSDs, slowing them down and reducing performance. Without solving that problem, the chips aren’t practical for cybersecurity.

“This is the problem we have solved, helping to clear the way for storage devices to become a major asset in the fight against hackers,” Zhu said.

The Innovation

Current SSDs perform what engineers call “garbage collection” blindly: they have no awareness of when data was deleted, making them poor custodians of the files most likely to have been targeted in an attack.

To understand why that matters, think of the data on your…

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